Reflective accessories

Abstract

Reflective accessories for increasing the visibility of persons engaged in night-time (or other low-light) activities. Reflective accessories include a mechanism configured for attachment of the accessory to an object associated with the person engaging in a low-light activity by looping the accessory around at least a portion of the object and twisting the mechanism about itself to thereby secure the accessory to the object, and a flexible body supported by the mechanism and having an outer surface with a portion configured to reflect light to a degree that the portion is generally more visible than the object to which the accessory is attached when a light source is directed at the accessory and the object.

1. A reflective accessory for providing increased visibility of a user engaging in an activity in a low-light environment, the accessory comprising:
 a flexible body including an outer surface and generally having a width greater than about ⅜ inches and a length greater than about 3 inches; and 
 a mechanism supported by the flexible body, the mechanism configured for attachment of the accessory to an object by looping the accessory around at least a portion of the object and twisting the mechanism about itself to secure the accessory to the object; 
 wherein at least a portion of the outer surface is configured to reflect light to a degree that the portion of the outer surface is generally more visible than the object to which the accessory is attached when a light source is directed at the portion of the outer surface and the object. 
 
   
   
     2. The accessory of  claim 1 , wherein the width is between about ⅜ of an inch and about 2 inches and the length is between about 3 inches and 14 inches. 
   
   
     3. The accessory of  claim 1 , wherein the width is greater than about ½ of an inch. 
   
   
     4. The accessory of  claim 1 , wherein the width is greater than about ¾ of an inch. 
   
   
     5. The accessory of  claim 1 , wherein the length is greater than about 5 inches. 
   
   
     6. The accessory of  claim 1 , wherein the length is greater than about 7 inches. 
   
   
     7. The accessory of  claim 1 , wherein the length is greater than about 10 inches. 
   
   
     8. The accessory of  claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the mechanism is housed within the flexible body. 
   
   
     9. The accessory of  claim 8 , wherein at least a portion of the mechanism is not housed within the flexible body. 
   
   
     10. The accessory of  claim 1 , wherein the mechanism includes a bendable material configured for repeated twisting and untwisting about itself. 
   
   
     11. The accessory of  claim 10 , wherein the mechanism includes a wire. 
   
   
     12. The accessory of  claim 10 , wherein the mechanism includes a wire with a non-metal external sheath. 
   
   
     13. The accessory of  claim 1 , wherein the portion of the outer surface configured to reflect light is retroreflective. 
   
   
     14. The accessory of  claim 1 , wherein the flexible body includes a first layer and a second layer, and wherein at least a portion of the mechanism is sandwiched between the first and second layers. 
   
   
     15. The accessory of  claim 14 , wherein the first and second layers are stitched together about at least a portion of a periphery of the mechanism. 
   
   
     16. The accessory of  claim 1 , wherein the flexible body includes fabric. 
   
   
     17. A method of providing increased visibility of a person engaging in an activity in a low-light environment, the method comprising:
 providing the reflective accessory of  claim 1 ; 
 looping the accessory around at least a portion of the object associated with the person; and 
 twisting the mechanism about itself to form an enclosed loop around the object and thereby securing the accessory to the object. 
 
   
   
     18. A reflector for use by a person engaging in a low-light activity, the reflector comprising:
 a flexible body with at least a portion constructed of a fabric, the flexible body including an outer surface; and 
 a mechanism supported by the flexible body, the mechanism configured to attach the reflector to an object associated with the person by looping the reflector around at least a portion of the object and twisting the mechanism about itself to thereby secure the reflector to the object; 
 wherein at least a portion of the outer surface is configured to reflect light to a degree that the portion of the outer surface is generally more visible than the object to which the reflector is attached when a light source is directed at the portion of the outer surface and the object. 
 
   
   
     19. The reflector of  claim 18 , wherein the flexible body includes a portion with a width greater than about ⅜ of an inch, and the flexible body has a length greater than about 3 inches. 
   
   
     20. The reflector of  claim 19 , wherein the width is between about ⅜ of an inch and about 2 inches and the length is between about 3 inches and 14 inches. 
   
   
     21. The reflector of  claim 18 ,
 wherein the flexible body includes a first layer and a second layer; 
 wherein the mechanism includes a bendable core, at least a portion of the bendable core sandwiched between the first and second layers; and 
 wherein the first and second layers are stitched together about at least a portion of a periphery of the bendable core. 
 
   
   
     22. A safety device for a user engaging in a low-light activity, the device comprising:
 an outer sheath at least partially constructed of a fabric and including a reflective portion; and 
 an inner bendable core at least partially housed within the outer sheath, the inner bendable core configured to enable wrapping the device about an object associated with the user and further configured for being twisted about itself to secure the device to the object. 
 
   
   
     23. The safety device of  claim 22 , wherein the sheath includes a first layer and a second layer secured together by stitching provided directly adjacent at least a portion of a periphery of the inner bendable core. 
   
   
     24. The safety device of  claim 23 , wherein the first and second layers are further secured together by additional stitching provided around a periphery of the sheath. 
   
   
     25. The safety device of  claim 22 , wherein the sheath includes a first layer stitched to a second layer to define an internal volume therebetween, and wherein the inner bendable core is secured within the internal volume by the stitching. 
   
   
     26. A method of providing increased visibility of a person engaging in an activity in a low-light environment, the method comprising:
 providing a reflective accessory, the reflective accessory comprising:
 a flexible body including an outer surface with high reflectivity; and 
 a bendable core supported by the flexible body, the bendable core including ends; 
 
 looping the flexible body around an object associated with the person; and 
 twisting the ends of the bendable core about each other to form an enclosed loop around the object and thereby securing the accessory to the object. 
 
   
   
     27. A plurality of reflective accessories for providing increased visibility of users engaging in activities in low-light environments, each accessory comprising:
 a flexible body including an outer surface and generally having a width and a length; and 
 a mechanism supported by the flexible body, the mechanism configured for attachment of the accessory to an object associated with a user by looping the accessory around at least a portion of the object and twisting the mechanism about itself to secure the accessory to the object; 
 wherein at least a portion of the outer surface is configured to reflect light to a degree that the portion of the outer surface is generally more visible than the object to which the accessory is attached when a light source is directed at the portion of the outer surface and the object; and 
 wherein at least a one of the plurality of accessories has a flexible body with a first length and at least another one of the plurality of accessories has a flexible body with a second length greater than the first length.